Sent Nov. 11, 2020: WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

 

NOVEMBER 11, 2020 WHAT IS TO BE DONE? & A LITTLE FUN PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. IF THIS BLOG WAS FORWARDED TO YOU, YOU ARE NOT SUBSCRIBED.

TODAY IN TREE DAHLIA LAND. ACTUALLY, IT'S TOO COLD TO HAVE ANYONE OVER FOR TEA IN THE GARDEN, SO I'M VERY HAPPY I CAN SHARE THIS WITH YOU. Ok. I wrote this blog in all caps as an experiment. I was hoping to switch to all caps. You know, I'm in search of my graphic style. But all caps doesn't work for me at all. I can't tell when the sentences end. But I'm not going to rewrite the whole damn blog, so you'll have to endure it this one time. Sorry. FIRST, I'M GOING TO DO THIS ALL IN CAPS BECAUSE THAT'S FASTER AND I AM SO FAR BEHIND IN EVERYTHING -- READING NEWSPAPERS, PAYING BILLS, GETTING MY COMPUTER FIXED -- I MEAN, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ESSENTIALS OF LIFE -- SO I'M TRYING TO BE MORE EFFICIENT. AND IT'S EFFICIENT TO JUST USE ONE CASE. I CHOOSE UPPER. IF THIS DRIVES EVEN A FEW PEOPLE CRAZY, I WON'T DO IT AGAIN. SO PLEASE EMAIL ME AT TERRYJOANBAUM@GMAIL.COM IF YOU CANNOT STAND THIS. ALSO EMAIL ME IF YOU LIKE IT. SO...TWO TOPICS TODAY: ONE: WHAT IS TO BE DONE? TWO: A FEW FUN PHOTOS & LINKS ONE: WHAT IS TO BE DONE? A: FOR CALIFORNIANS ONLY GOVERNOR NEWSOM WILL BE APPOINTING SOMEONE TO REPLACE SENATOR HARRIS, WHOSE ELECTION AS VICE-PRESIDENT MAKES US ALL WARM AND FUZZY WITH HOPE. I AND MANY OTHERS ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF LONG-TIME EAST BAY CONGRESSWOMAN BARBARA LEE AS OUR NEXT SENATOR. BARBARA LEE IS THE ONLY PERSON IN CONGRESS TO VOTE AGAINST INVADING AFGHANISTAN AFTER 9/11. THE ONLY ONE! HERE ARE LINKS TO TWO ARTICLES ABOUT LEE: POLITICO & INTERCEPT I REMEMBER WHEN SHE TOOK THAT COURAGEOUS STAND, MANY SAID HER POLITICAL CAREER WAS OVER. BUT IN FACT, SHE WAS TRULY REPRESENTING HER DISTRICT! AND HISTORY, NEED I MENTION, HAS PROVEN HER "PRESCIENT," AS POLITICO SAYS. TO CONTACT GOVERNOR NEWSOM ABOUT THIS, USE THIS LINK. IF YOU SEND AN EMAIL, I SUGGEST CHOOSING EITHER "OTHER" OR "REQUEST GENERAL" AS THE TOPIC. B: GEORGIA "GEORGIA ON MY MIND" IS NOT ONLY THE TITLE OF A GREAT SONG, BUT ALSO DESCRIPTIVE OF THE MENTAL STATE OF ALMOST EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY AND PROBABLY FOLKS ALL OVER THE WORLD. IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL IF WE HAD FLIPPED THE SENATE ON NOVEMBER 3, BUT WE DIDN'T. NOW THERE'S A RUN-OFF ELECTION IN JANUARY FOR BOTH SENATE SEATS IN GEORGIA. IF WE GET EVEN ONE OF THESE SEATS, WE WILL HAVE A MAJORITY, SINCE IT WOULD MAKE THE SENATE 50-50, AND THE VICE-PRESIDENT WOULD BREAK A TIE. SO... WE'VE GOT A LOT OF WORK TO DO! TIME AGAIN TO: DONATE MONEY (IF YOU CAN) MAKE PHONE CALLS SEND TEXTS (DON'T HAVE A LINK YET) WRITE LETTERS I GAVE WHAT WAS FOR ME A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY. I THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO DO THAT, IF YOU CAN. IF NOT, GIVE WHAT YOU CAN. THIS RACE IS ALMOST AS IMPORTANT AS THE RACE FOR PRESIDENT. IF THE SENATE STAYS GOP-CONTROLLED, IT WILL BE SO MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO CHANGE THE SICK TRAJECTORY WE'RE ON NOW. ME, I'M A LETTER WRITER. THAT'S MY FAVORITE ACTIVITY, OTHER THAN CANVASSING, WHICH I'M NOT WILLING TO GO TO GEORGIA TO DO DURING THE PANDEMIC. I'VE ALREADY SIGNED UP FOR TWO MONDAYS @ 10AM OF BETSY'S COFFEE CLUB VIRTUAL LETTER WRITING PARTY. TWO: TWO FUN PHOTOS & 2 LINKS JESSICA CELEBRATING THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE HERE'S JESSICA NOONEY ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE OF NEW YORK CITY, STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET, BANGING POTS TOGETHER IN CELEBRATION OF TRUMP'S DEFEAT, ON THAT GLORIOUS MORNING WHEN THE ELECTION WAS FINALLY CALLED.

JESSICA IS A CLOSE EX. YOU CAN TELL SHE'S A DANCER. EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN'T SEE HER FACE, YOU CAN FEEL EVERY INCH OF HER BODY RADIATING JOY. WE MET ONE DAY IN 1999 IN CENTRAL PARK WHEN I WAS LIVING IN NEW YORK. SHE WAS PAINTING A WATERCOLOR OF A TREE, AND I STOPPED TO TALK WITH HER. WE HAD AN INSTANT SOUL CONNECTION, AND EXCHANGED PHONE NUMBERS. WHEN I GOT HOME, I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHERE THE HELL I HAD WRITTEN HER NUMBER. AND SHE NEVER CALLED ME. SO IT'S HERFAULT THAT WE DIDN'T GET INVOLVED UNTIL A YEAR AND HALF LATER WHEN WE ENCOUNTERED EACH OTHER IN A MEETING AT THE GAY & LESBIAN CENTER. JESSICA HAS LIVED IN MANHATTAN HER WHOLE LIFE. WHEN SHE WAS YOUNG, SHE TOURED WITH TWO DIFFERENT MODERN DANCE TROUPES -- LED BY JEAN ERDMAN AND PEARL LANG. WHEN I MET HER, SHE RAN A PRE-SCHOOL IN HER APARTMENT ON 101ST ST. & COLUMBUS, SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVED LITTLE KIDS. SHE ALWAYS SAID, "WHAT COULD BE BETTER THAN WAKING UP, ROLLING OUT OF BED, AND HAVING A BUNCH OF BEAUTIFUL BABIES PARADE INTO YOUR APARTMENT? I'M SO LUCKY!" AND SHE WASN'T BEING SARCASTIC! BUT FINALLY, NEW YORK STATE CHANGED THE LAW AND SHE COULD NO LONGER SHELTER THE PRE-SCHOOL WHERE SHE LIVED. YOU KNOW, LAWS ABOUT FIRE EXITS AND STAIRS AND SUCH. JESSICA IS A VISUAL ARTIST AND, IN MY OPINION, A GREAT POET. SHE SELF-PUBLISHED TWO BOOKS OF HER POEMS AND VISUAL ART. A SPANISH-LANGUAGE PUBLISHER ALSO DID A BOOK OF HER POEMS, WITH HIS TRANSLATIONS ON THE FACING PAGE. BELOW IS JESSICA IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WHERE WE WENT ON VACATION. WE WEREN'T LOVERS YET WHEN WE PLANNED THE TRIP, BUT OF COURSE WE KNEW WE WOULD BE.

AN ENTIRE CITY CELEBRATING THE END OF THE NIGHTMARE CLICK THIS STILL FROM THE VIDEO, PHILLY DANCES FOR DEMOCRACY TO SEE A HAPPY TOWN. APPARENTLY, PHILADELPHIANS ARE VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR STREET PARTIES. THEY GREATLY ENJOYED BEING THE CENTER OF NATIONAL ATTENTION FOR THE FEW DAYS BEFORE PENNSYLVANIA WAS DECLARED FOR BIDEN. WHY DIDN'T THE NY TIMES SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ROWDY, LOUD AND PEACEFUL PARTY FOR DEMOCRACY?!? A GAGGLE OF BROADWAY ACTORS BEMOANING THE (HOPEFULLY TEMPORARY) END OF THEIR WORLD CLICK THE PHOTO TO SEE THIS VIDEO, BRING BACK BROADWAY, A ZOOM CANTATA. IT'S HILARIOUS. I LAUGHED AND LAUGHED -- UNTIL I SUDDENLY STARTED CRYING. MOSTLY I DON'T ALLOW MYSELF TO MOURN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THEATER.

ALL FOR NOW, BLOGGELINIS. TERRY